Mayor Thomas M. Menino today joined John Hancock President Craig Bromley and the New England Patriots’ Devin McCourty to kick off the sixth year of the company’s MLK Summer Jobs Program, which annually employs 650 Boston teens.

As cities across the country continue to struggle to find jobs for teens, Boston continues to buck the trend. In the final campaign of Mayor Menino’s administration, the City will surpass its goal of providing 10,000 summer jobs to teens and set a new record for teen employment. In conjunction with the Mayor’s Summer Jobs campaign, John Hancock works in close partnership with the Boston Globe, Boston University, and Partners HealthCare to offer this unique Summer Scholars program.

“This campaign is a success because we have so many groups that are willing to work with city government to achieve more – our business community, our universities, and our health care institutions all work side by side to help make our goal a reality. That’s why I know our summer jobs program will live on long after this year,” Mayor Menino said. “It’s so important to the vitality of our city that our young people have positive experiences during the summer months. I’m grateful for the collaboration of John Hancock, The Boston Globe, Partners HealthCare and Boston University to give our City’s future leaders an invaluable opportunity this summer.”

Mayor Menino addressed youth scholars at a kick-off event at John Hancock’s headquarters in South Boston. The event also included a motivational appearance by Patriots player Devin McCourty and an interactive exercise where the Mayor, McCourty and other business and civic leaders engaged one-on-one with the scholars.

This summer, the million-dollar plus program will employ 650 Scholars who will work at more than 80 non-profit agencies in neighborhoods throughout the City. Along with gaining valuable paid work experience, the Scholars also attend a series of life skills workshops each Friday morning at Boston University from July 12th to August 16th. Today’s kick-off served as the first workshop of the summer.

"From investing in summer jobs for teens to providing students with a quality education, one of Mayor Menino’s lasting legacies will be his unwavering commitment to creating a better Boston for the young people in our City,” said Hancock’s Bromley. “We are proud to partner with the Mayor’s office once again to offer 650 deserving teens meaningful summer employment to empower them to make immediate contributions in our community and help them prepare to achieve their future goals.

“Engaging young people in their health and helping them to find ways to make positive, healthy choices are just two of our goals as a health care system,” said Gary Gottlieb, MD, President and CEO, Partners HealthCare. “The MLK Scholars program offers opportunities for these kinds of choices as well as valuable work experience. Congratulations to all of the scholars for making this important commitment this summer.”

"The MLK Summer Scholars program provides young people with meaningful work experiences and teaches important skills by offering jobs and training during the summer," said Chris Mayer, publisher The Boston Globe. "We are proud to continue our support for, and association with, the program and all its committed staff, volunteers, summer workers, organizations, and supporters."

“Boston University is committed to providing educational opportunities to the young people of Boston, and the MLK Summer Scholars is an outstanding opportunity for all involved to gain work experience and to learn many of the skills they will use in their future careers and academic pursuits. We are proud to participate once again in this wonderful program,” said Robert A. Brown, President, Boston University.

For more information on MLK Summer Scholars, please visit www.mlksummerscholars.com.